Eating & exercise

Eating & exercise 1 in 6 children were obese in 2002

Obesity prevalence among adults: by sex, England

The prevalence of obesity in England has increased markedly among both adults and children since the mid 1990s. In 2002 it was similar for both sexes; the rate for boys and girls was 17 per cent and for adults was 23 per cent. In 1995 the equivalent figures were 10 per cent for boys and 12 per cent for girls, 15 per cent for men and 18 per cent for women.

There is no evidence that the average calorific intake or consumption of foods rich in fat and added sugar has increased in the UK since the mid 1980s. Men aged 19 to 64 in 2000/01 reported a daily energy intake of approximately 2,323 kcal (a reduction of 6 per cent since 1986/87). Women in the same age groups reported 1,642 kcal, a reduction of 3 per cent.

Reductions over the same period were also observed in the contribution of total fat to total energy intake (from 38 to 34 per cent in men and from 39 to 34 per cent in women) and saturated fat (from 15 to 13 per cent in men and from 17 to 13 per cent in women).

Percentage of adults who meet the physical activity recommendations: by sex and age, 2003, England

In 2003 the percentage of adults meeting the recommendations for physical activity in England declined with age for both sexes. Men were more active than women in every age group and their activity levels declined steadily with age. For women, activity levels remained the same until the 45 to 54 age group, and then declined.

Since the early 1990s there has been a steady increase in the use of cars and a decrease in walking and cycling to school or to work in GB. Among children aged five to ten, the proportion who walked to school fell from 61 per cent in 1992–94 to 52 per cent in 2002–03, mirroring the equivalent 10 percentage point rise in the proportion of school journeys by car, from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.

Among adolescents aged 11 to 16, the proportion of journeys to school by car increased from 16 to 23 per cent over the same period, reflecting the combined decrease in journeys on foot or by bicycle.

For adults aged 17 and over, the proportion of journeys to work where the main mode of travel was by car rose from 66 per cent in 1989–91 to 71 per cent in 2002–03. During the same interval journeys that were mainly on foot fell from 13 to 10 per cent.

Sources: Health Survey for England 1994–2003, Department of Health
Welsh Health Survey 2003/04, National Assembly for Wales

Notes:
View the latest HSE data on obesity.

Notes & definitions

Published on 17 January 2006 at 9:30 am